The Battle Of The Confederate And Union - 1133 Words

Throughout the Civil War, there is a constant reference to states. The obvious answer is that this represented the composition of the armies at that time. It also demonstrates that each military unit carrying that state representation formed a shared identity among the soldiers. The Confederate and Union armies both suffered from failures of leadership. These failures put strain on the rank and file soldiers to which they turned to their state identity, to their fellow soldiers from the same state, to maintain the rationale for their personal sacrifice and remember why they were in the war at all. Wars are fought by commissioned officers and, what we might term, ordinary soldiers. For the American Civil War, their involvement was a†¦show more content†¦Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny cites McClellan’s â€Å"mismanagement† as the reason for their defeat and that only through the quick thinking of other lower officers saved the army from total ruin (156). Indeed, it was said of McClellan that his greatest ability was in organizing retreats (156). Grimsley, writing on the Overland Campaign in 1864, demonstrates the difficulties that both armies had with subordinate officers. While Meade was the commanding general, his role had largely been subjugated by Grant. Meade made no concerted effort to alter the situation. The army was working smoothly and victory was happening; it was a case of not fixing was did not need to be fixed. Even when a Congressional delegate visited him and awarded him the victories, Meade swept the credit to Grant. For the sake of victory, for the sake of peace, subjugation was acceptable. There were issues with Warren refusing to cooperate with any other general and most other regimental officers returning with unexpected, and disappointing, results. Years after the fact, Grant would lament the fact that the East and West armies could not work together, which could have shortened the war. Lee, on the other hand, had serious issues with subordinate officers. Early on in the campaign, Lee could cou nt on the service and obedience of Breckinridge and Beuregard. This was offset by Hill’s inability to